Capital One Cup Round 1 preview

11 August 2015

The 2015/16 Capital One Cup gets under way this week, with 36 fixtures taking place across Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

The first stop on the road to Wembley sees all of the Sky Bet Championship, Sky Bet League 1 and Sky Bet League 2 teams in action, with the prospect of scalps and penalty shoot-outs adding to the potential for drama in Round 1.

Last season's Cup semi-finalists Sheffield United begin their Cup campaign at Morecambe. The Blades had a memorable 2014/15 run in the competition, knocking out the likes of West Ham United before running eventual finalists Tottenham Hotspur close at the last-four stage.

Hull City will feature in Round 1 for the first time in three seasons following their return to the Sky Bet Championship, and they travel to League 2's Accrington Stanley, where Josh Windass could feature against his father’s former club.

Queens Park Rangers and Burnley also enter the fray in Round 1, and they travel to Yeovil Town and Port Vale respectively.

The live match on Sky Sports on Wednesday is Portsmouth's clash with Derby County at Fratton Park. The pair are among the most-fancied to challenge at the top of their divisions this term, and new Rams boss Paul Clement faces a tough introduction on his Capital One Cup managerial debut.

On Thursday, there is the small matter of a Yorkshire Derby taking place, between Doncaster Rovers and Leeds United, in another game being screened by Sky Sports. The teams have met twice in the competition in recent seasons, with Leeds having come out victors on both occasions.

Other Championship/League 2 match-ups see 2012 runners-up Cardiff City go to AFC Wimbledon, Brentford host Oxford United, Charlton Athletic at home to Dagenham & Redbridge and Wolverhampton Wanderers travel across the bridge to Newport County. There are also three all-Sky Bet League 1 meetings, which include Scunthorpe United versus Barnsley, Rochdale versus Coventry City and Wigan Athletic versus Bury.

The draw for Capital One Cup Round 2 matches, which see the 12 Premier League teams not involved in UEFA competitions enter, will take place upon the conclusion of Doncaster Rovers versus Leeds United on Thursday 13th August 2015.

Don’t miss it!

We’ll be providing live match updates from all of the Round 1 games in the Capital One Cup on Twitter, via @CapitalOne_Cup.

Channel 5 is the new home for competition highlights, Capital One Cup Tonight, with an hour-long programme being broadcast at 11pm on Wednesday 12th August.